In November, Tidewater announced a resolution of the Angolan crisis which had bedevilled the company for two years. A regulatory filing a week after the company's third-quarter results disclosed the formal execution of a new joint venture with Sonangol, the Angolan state oil company. The new joint venture is expected to come into being "by early 2014" with an initial two-year lifespan through to early 2016. No further details were immediately announced, but the development was largely welcomed, especially as it involves a market in which almost one-third of Tidewater's active fleet is deployed. The development appears to have brought down the curtain on the spat involving Sonatide, the earlier joint venture in which Tidewater had a 49 per cent stake and which has been at the centre of much controversy since 2011. Sonatide officially died on 31 March, 2013 because of "unexpected" developments, though in practical terms the unit has continued to do business and earn revenues.
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